Appetites for Iniquity
by koolkame
Summary: There are some tastes that cannot be denied, no matter what the cost.


Disclaimer: W.I.T.C.H. is the intellectual property of Disney and not this fan. No way they'd do something like this.

Summary: He comes to her when he can't get what he needs at home. She should turn him away but it goes against her nature to refuse him.

Sating The Hunger

He should be home. With his wife and his children. Not here.

He's been here countless times through the years, lived here for several in fact. It was the first real home he'd ever known, having spent most of his life on the run and in places devoid of the warmth he found here, guarded by a dragon. When he had arrived he had felt the unfamiliar sensation of being cared for (not to mention overruled) by aggressive yet tender females.

Perhaps that was why he returned during these times. He doesn't want to, but... but...

Ignoring the CLOSED sign he opens the door. As the chime announced his arrival a pleasant voice said, "I'm sorry, sir, we're close... Caleb?"

She stands there sweeping the floor in a red Oriental dress that was slit up past her knee. Her sleek hair was done up in buns on the top of her head. No one could argue that she was a beautiful woman, so far removed from the scrawny girl he had first met. To him, at this moment, she was a goddess made flesh.

He tries to speak, stumbles over his words. "I... uh..."

She smiles a knowing smile. "I think I understand. Just like last time, huh?" She shakes her head. "I swear, if Cornelia doesn't learn how to treat you better I'm gonna..."

"No!" He panicks. "It's not her fault. You know how she is in the first few months. I want to support her, it's just..."

She props the broom against a table and embraces him warmly in a display of pride at the man he had become. "You're such a sweetheart, Caleb. She's really lucky to have you." She pulls away and cups his cheek in her hand. "Look, I need to change. Could you finish sweeping for me? I'll be right back."

"Alright." He watches her leave, then picks up the broom. The process is familiar to him; he's done it hundreds of times. The simple act is like a calming mantra that settles his rattled nerves. As nice as it was to sweep down memory lane, it doesn't fully distract him from his impending betrayal.

When she returns she's dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. He notices the green slippers first, topped with alien heads projecting from the toes. He smirks at her footwear even as he notices that the change in wardrobe does nothing to diminish her beauty. Her undone hair falls along her back and her bangs lightly cover her eyes. His wife is the most beautiful woman in the world to him, but she comes close. They all do, in their own ways.

"Nice shoes," he says.

"Oh, hush. Nice to see you can still do your old job." He puts the broom and dustpan away and is mildly surprised when she takes his hand, almost as if she is looking forward to this. "C'mon. The kitchen's this way, if you don't remember."

"I think I recall."

* * *

She shouldn't be here. She should be home with her children. And her husband.

But he's here, at this place that was a home to both of them until they made their own. And she's afraid to know why.

She fears losing him. Her world has two parts to it: him and their children, two just recently added. And because of her weakness he has suffered; _she_ made him suffer. And now he was here, at the home of one of the few other women in his life that he was close to.

She has a key that she was given at her friend's insistence that the restaurant was their home as well. Furtively, she cracks the front doors open slowly to keep the bell from chiming and alerting anyone to her presence. She steps slowly into the empty dining area, feeling oddly mocked by the upturned chairs, like they are an audience to her worst moment. She stands in the middle of the restaurant, listening for... something. And then she hears it.

The slight crash of metal on metal, followed by what sounds like a moan of contentment. She freezes, quietly mumurs "no," and dashes toward the kitchen doors. Steadying herself for the end of her world, she pushes open the doors.

Their focus was so intense they didn't even notice the doors swing open. Feeling a slight breeze, he looks up and pales. "C...C-C...Cornelia," he stammers.

"Huh?" Hay Lin turns her head and silently swears under her breath. Aloud, "Oh, hi there, Cornelia! What brings you by?"

He can't believe she's being so calm about it. "Cornelia, I can explain..."

"No... Don't. I... understand." Tears begin to flow from her eyes. "I did this. I didn't... Because of my insecurities you had to come to... her." She looked at Hay Lin. "I think you love him more than I do. You never tell him 'no.' You always give him what he needs. I wish I could be so strong."

He rises and walks over to her. "It wasn't you, I wasn't strong enough. Not like you. I'm..."

Hay Lin blows her damp bangs out of her eyes. "Alright, that's enough. We need a conference right now."

They look at her. "Now?"

She adjusts her clothes as she tries to regain some semblance of respectability. The alien shoes not withstanding. "Yes, now. Cornelia, sit down."

Radiating the same air of command her grandmother still possessed, she sits them across from each other and pulls up a stool so she can stay off to their side like an arbiter instead of an accessory. "Okay, I know things haven't been going smoothly since the twins were born, and that having a teen around makes it even harder. But, Cornelia, you have to realize that Caleb loves you for more than your body. No woman that has had three children is going to look like model forever. Y'know, even if she _is_ a model."

Cornelia blows out a breath and sniffles. "I know, I just... I want to be the best I can be for him. I thought we could hold off until I lost some weight, trimmed up a bit." Caleb takes her hand and squeezes it supportively. "But I guess I was wrong."

"Cornelia, my love, you only become more beautful as we grow older. You carry my children into the world; how could you think that I thought you ugly?" He leans over and kisses her lightly on the lips.

Hay Lin blinks her eyes to hold back tears even as she jokes, "Besides, if Caleb ever left you, you know we'd kill him." Cornelia laughs; even Caleb grins at the truth of the statement. "And if you'd like, I could teach you a few tricks passed down through the Lin family."

Cornelia blushes. "I... I guess. I've never had much... aptitude in that sort of thing."

Caleb snorts. "Don't believe her, Hay Lin. She knows what she's doing." Cornelia blushes deeper and gives him a grateful smile.

"You know," Hay Lin says thoughtfully, "it would probably help if Caleb joined us for a few sessions. Get a guy's perspective. Or at least make runs for condiments."

Caleb sighs, having learned years ago when not to argue. "Okay, okay, I'll do my part. But I expect to be the first to sample."

"Men," Cornelia says with a wry tone. "They always have to be taken care of."

"I hear ya."

"Hey, hey, no ganging up on me." Caleb looks at Cornelia. "By the way, the kids..."

"Oh, I dropped them off at Will's. She said she didn't mind."

Hay Lin sighs. "If there's anyone I need to teach, it's her. How can she expect to net a guy with her skills? She's just as likely to kill him as... I know! We could could invite her and the others, and their husbands, too!"

Caleb looks uncomfortable. "I don't know..."

Cornelia glances at him slyly. "What's a matter, Mr. Hale, afraid the other boys will make fun of you?"

"No! I don't... it's different with other guys."

"Well, don't worry. You know you're the only one for me."

"Now see!" Hay Lin brightens. "That's what I'm talking about! That's the attitude to have. Oh, by the way, would you mind if Blunk joins us, just once? I've been working on him and I think..."

"No," Caleb says flatly. "No chance."

"Wha? But he smells a lot better than he used to."

"I'm sorry, Hay Lin," Caleb says as he turns to his laughing wife, "But there are some places you just don't go."

The End

Author's Notes: You ever get an idea and say to yourself, "Oh, _god_, I can't believe I thought that up!" Well, I write mine down and put them on the internet for all you good people to see. I honestly don't know how I came up with this, but I think it happened while I was writing Hay Lin's views on Caleb in chapter two of "Dark Gossamer Wings." The original idea was to have it look like Hay and Caleb were having an affair, then at the end reveal she was cooking greasy dishes for him since Cornelia had banned anything but rabbit food after her pregnancy.

It worked up til a point, until I realized two things: one, everyone would probably guess what the deal was long before I revealed it, and two, the ending would have to be a little sappy and probably not very interesting. Then one word popped into my head: ambiguity. And this is the result. In a way, the reader makes the story whatever they want, whether it's completely innocent or totally perverted. It's almost like a personality quiz in a way. Except everyone probably fails it. If you have the heebie-jeebies still, maybe it would help that what is _really_ going on is the innocent part with the cooking, it just _sounds_ like Skinemax.

So... if you're inclined to review, do you want to see more? If I get enough interest, I'll think about continuing it. I'd like to say it would be difficult for me to come up with bad thoughts for another chapter, but I have to be honest here: I'm a perv. If you don't, that's cool because that would mean this is my first complete fanfic. (Yeah!) And it implies infidelity and naughty things! (Ugh!)


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